Knitting needle latch



July 22, 1941. c. 1. PAGE KNITTING NEEDLE LATCH Filed April 10, 1940(Zarks lp linveutor I O I I attornegs'.

Patented July 22, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application April 10,zit-121:0. 328,942

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in knitting needlelatches, and more particularly relates to the structure of the spoonwhich cooperates with the hook of the needle.

Heretofore the standard spoon is formed with a rather shallow depressionwhich is intended to close upon the hook ofthe needle, but, due tovariations in manufacture and other causes, this ideal condition isoften prevented in practice by the rim of the depression which lies atthe extremity or free tip of the spoon, thispart of the rim oftenencountering the rounded part of the hook and interfering with thatfinal ideal seating of the depression over and upon the hook.

As the result of this imperfect mating between spoon and hook, the latchis very often thrown laterally out of alinement, as by knots or slubs inthe yarn, to such an extent that there is such a misalinement of spoonand hook as to cause the spoon to be pushed to one side of the hook.This condition is attended by a distortion or bending of the latch andoften results in breakage at its weakest point which lies in the zonebetween the spoonand the blade. The loss and expense of the latch is notthe only difficulty because of this failure in practice because the yarnand the fabric often both sufler when such a failure occurs.

It is a primary object of the present invention to overcome the aboveenumerated difficulties and to this end the invention proposes toproment of the latch at certain critical points occa-. sioned by the newformation given the latch in the particulars noted in the precedingparagraph.

The invention also aims to correct the prior maladjustment of parts andthe difliculties incident thereto by simple rearrangement of latch partswithout entailingany radical changes in the latch which would demand newmanufacturing equipment or a new form of needle.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention will be morefully described hereinafter and more particularly pointed out in the Isubioined claims.

In the drawing, in which like parts are denoted by the same referencecharacters throughout the several views, v

Figure l is a partial side view of a knitting needle showing theimprovedlatch in the closed position.

Figure 2 is a similar view with the latch open. Figure 3 is a top planview of the improved latch.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the same. Figure 5 is a side view withparts broken away and shown in longitudinal section along the line .55in Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on theline 6-6 in Figure 4,

and

Figure 7 is a perspective view Of the-improved latch.

Referring more particularly to the drawing i0 designates the shank of aconventional knitting needle in which the cheek is indicated at H andthe hook at l2. The usual slot I3 is formed in the cheek and shank andis adapted to receive the blade 14 of thelatch which is pivoted in theslot II of the cheek II in the.customary manner as by the rivet IS. Theblade it carries a spoon l6 which, together with the blade, is thesubject of the present invention.

I first propose to eliminate the rim which lies at the free tip of thespoon so that the depression I1 is free, unimpeded and open at thispoint being bounded only by the bottom wall l8, whereby this bottom wallIt may move toward and.

from the hook l2 and the bottom wall iii of the latch may always seek,without interference, the hook l2.

The side walls I8 of the spoon are made of a greater depth in comparisonwith the standard side walls, the overall depth of the spoon being inexcess of that of the depth of the standard spoon. Moreover these sidewalls are substantially parallel and then run straight or substantiailystraight down the sides of the depression in substantial parallelismwith the longitudinal As shown in Figures 4 and 5 the outer edges of theside walls or wings i9 gradually slope downwardly as indicated at 2|toward the bottom wall I8. The top edges 22 of the side walls or wingsl9 are tapered outwardly and downwardly from the upper edges of the flatinner faces 20 to the outer sides 23 of the spoon. The formation of theside walls i9 deeper over standard practice gives rise to a furtherproblem in the open position of thelatch in that this deeper wallportion i9 would ordinarily stand out from the shank ID a greaterdistance than normal which would result instraining the stitches as theneedle moved up through the fabric. To counteract this tendency I removeportions of the bottom wall of the spoon adjacent the blade H, suchremoved portions being indicated at 24 so that the thin cross section ofthe blade l4 along the bottom of the blade and for a distance into thebottom portion of the spoon is continued to constitute a thin spoonbottom portion 25. Otherwise stated blade I4 is continued into thespoon; or the bottom walls of the spoon represented at 26 have beenraised preferably along the sloping line as shown in Figure 4.

It will be noted that the removed portions 25 of the bottom of the spoonat opposite sides of the blade it are counteracted in any weakeningtendency by virtue of additional bodies of material 21 added between thespoon and the upper side portions of the blade ll, which material is theusual material out of which the latches are made. The bottom slopingwalls 28 also define the lower limit of. these additional bodies ofmaterial 21 which serve to reinforce and strengthen the latch at theaforesaid weakest part between the spoon and blade and particularlyoverlapping the removed portions 25 at the bottom part of the spoon.

Figure 3 shows in top plan view the open tip edge of the depression IIas well as the straight character of the inner faces 20 of the sidewalls or wings and also the large bodies 21 of additionalreinforcingmaterial at the inner edge of the spoon and of the gentlysloping external boundary lines 28' of these bodies which gently slopeinto the sides of the thin portion oi the blade l4.

Figure 4 shows how the bottom edges of the reinforcing bodies 21 areundercut on the sloping line 28 at opposite sides of the blade ll, thuspermitting the blade to continue into and under the spoon but at thesame time reinforcing this blade and the spoon above the portion wherethe removed portions 24 have been withdrawn. Figures 1 and 2 show thetwo positions of the latch. In Figure 1 the spoon is shown closedagainst the hook l2, indicating that the open tip of the depressionpermits the bottom wall I. to at all times seek a position flat againstthe end extent than any part of the spoon in the standard constructiontends to reinforce the blade against any bending stresses, at least to a.further point along its length toward its pivot 15 than. has been thepractice heretofore.

As shown in Figure 6, the flat side faces 2| engage the sides of thehook l2. These side faces 20 are therefore at right angles to any strainor any force acting laterally tending to distort the latch out of itsmating alinement with the hook After the needle has drawn the stitch andis again rising on the side cam the latch is opening, that isdescending, and inasmuch as such latch may have any tendency to getacross the sinkers, the tapering bottom walls 28 will engage thesinkers' and exert a gentle tendency on the latch to return to itsnormal vertical path of movement between adjacent sinkers; and in thisway the walls '26 cooperate with the sinkers in maintaining correctalinement and operation 0 the latches.

- The language used in the claims refers to the invention when in theposition illustrated in Figure 1.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in thedetails of construction and design of the above specifically describedembodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof,such changes and modiflcations being restricted only by the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a knitting needle having a hook and a slottedcheek, an improved latch comprising a blade and a spoon, said bladepivoted to the needle cheek within said. slot, said spoon having adepression adapted to receive said needle hook in the upper closedposition'of the latch, said spoon having deep side walls at the sides ofsaid depression for flanking the sides,

the material below said bodies and below the adjacent portion of thespoon being removed at opposite sides of said blade to permit the bladeto enter the slot in the needle cheek down to a of the hook l2. In thisfigure also the deep side walls 19 are shown as extending well beyondthe center line of the hook i 2 in which position it would be difficultfor any sidewise motion*im posed on the latch to enable the spoon todisengage the hook. Moreover the depth of the side walls 19 causes theleading edges 2| and 22 of the side walls to overlap the sides of hookl2 "at an earlier point in the rotational, closing movement of thelatch, which is also eflicacious in tending to avoid lateral torsionalmovement of low point on the spoon to compensate for the increase in theheight of said side walls, the undersides of said additional bodies andof said walls being tapered lengthwise of the blade and spoon and at thesame timerounded transversely to coact with adjacent sinkers in thedownward swinging motion of the latch to preserve the center alinementof the latch.

2. In combination with a knitting needle having a hook and a slottedcheek, an improved latch comprising a blade and a spoon, said bladepivoted to the needle cheek within said slot. said spoon having adepression adapted to receive said needle hook in the upper closedposition of the latch out of alinement with the hook l2 in the closingaction of the spoon upon the hook. Moreover the presence of thereinforcing bodies the latch, said spoon having deep. side walls at2'Iwhich extend along the blade ll to a greater 76 of Mid bladeadjoining and merging with the portions of the spoon side walls adjacentsaid upper line, the material below said bodies and removed at oppositesides of said blade to permit the blade to enter the slot in the needlecheek down to a low point on the spoon to compensate for the increase inthe height of said side walls, the undersides of said additional bodiesand of said walls being tapered lengthwise of the blade and spoon and atthe same time rounded transversely to coact with adjacent sinkers in thedownwardswinging motion of the latch to preserve the center alinement ofthe latch.

3. In combination with a knitting needle having a hook and a slottedcheek, an improved latch comprising a blade and a spoon, said bladepivoted to the needle cheek within said slot,

said spoon having a depression adapted to receive said needle hook inthe upper closed position of the latch, said spoon having deep sidewalls at the sides of said depressionior flanking the sides ofthe'needle hook and appreciably overlapping the end of the needle hook,said side walls terminating short of the tip end of the spoon and beingseparated and spaced apart to provide an open tip end with a projectingbottom portion, the upper line said blade and spoon walls beingsubstantially coincident, additional bodies of material on the sides ofsaid blade adjoining and merging with the portions of the below theadjacent portion of the spoon being spoon side walls adjacent said upperline, the

material below said bodies and below the adjacent portion of the spoonbeing removed at opposite sides oi said blade to permit the blade toenter the slot in the needle cheek down to a low point on the spoon tocompensate for the increase in the height of said side walls, the

undersides of said additional bodies and of said spoon having adepression adapted to receive said needle hook in the upper closedposition of the latch, additional bodies of material on the sides ofsaid blade adjoining and merging with the portions of the spoon adjacentthe upper part only of the spoon, the undersides of said additionalbodies and said spoon being tapered lengthwiseof the-blade and spoon andat the sametime rounded transversely to coact with adjacent sinkers inthe downward swinging motion of the latch to preserve the centeralinement of the latch.

, CHARLES L. PAGE.

